(a) Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a polypropylene resin composition having excellent tactility and scratch resistance. More particularly, it relates to a polypropylene resin composition in which reinforcing fibers (e.g., long fibers) are added to thermoplastic elastomer, which enhances the tactility of the thermoplastic elastomer while satisfying requirements for hardness, impact strength and formability (including ease and/or efficiency of formation).
(b) Background Art
In general, automotive interior parts have been manufactured according to various product specifications, which include leather wrapping, polyurethane spraying, in-mold graining (IMG), thermoplastic elastomer sheeting, thermoplastic elastomer over-molding, painting, non-painting and the like, depending on quality requirements. Expensive materials with high quality textures such as leather wrapping or polyurethane spraying have been widely applied to luxury vehicles, and in-mold graining or over-molding processes have also been applied to varying extent in intermediate class vehicles. For cheaper vehicles, painting or non-painting has generally been used, and such processes are also applied to a sizable number of parts even in high/middle-priced vehicle types. Recently, as the importance of enhancing surface tactility has been recognized, paints possessing high elasticity have been more broadly used. However, implementing a painting process that uses a high elasticity paint can cause production costs to rise while also provoking additional issues related to environmental safety and regulations.
Korean Patent No. 10-0857185 discloses a fiber-reinforced polypropylene resin composition having high rigidity, impact resistance and heat resistance, which is obtained by mixing polypropylene resin, inorganic fibers, thermoplastic rubber elastomer, inorganic fillers and a compatibilizing agent. This resin composition satisfies requirements for high rigidity, heat resistance and impact resistance for automotive parts; however, its tactility is very poor. Thus, a limitation of such resins is that a product using such resins must still be painted prior to releasing such a product.
Accordingly, there is a need to develop a polypropylene resin composition that possesses excellent tactility and scratch resistance while also maintaining good physical properties suitable for broad applications as automotive exterior and/or interior materials.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known to a person of ordinary skill in the art.